Karel: the human barbarian, played by David. He's got a map of the great northern mountain reaches, where more Ensivalen posts are mapped. His left arm has a nasty cut that's slowly starting to infect, and he has sustained multiple ghoul bites.
Zilya: the human assassin, played by Bryna. She's been taking care of a little girl they had been paid by the town of Yerwo to find. She started hearing a voice last session, but refused to take its advice. The voice promised she would hear from it again.
Natskin: a minotaur pit fighter, played by Will. He went down the well with Karel and Zilya because good money was involved, and now that they're staring at a bunch of supposedly mythical vinteralfen he can't help but wonder what he just got himself into. Natskin's ribs are broken and he's sustained a few ghoul bites.
Vinteralven: tall and thin humanoids, with blue skin and pointed ears. They're regarded as a myth.
The vinteralven stared at the four beaten and battered adventurers in bewilderment, the teal light of the lichen lamps throwing them all into extreme shadow. One vinteralf came forward and asked them how they got through that arch. Taking his last swig of mead, Natskin told them they were trying to rescue this little girl (shivering, she said "I feel down a well") and they were attacked by ghouls, and then a dragon came after them, and they got the dragon and the ghouls to attack each other. Karel drew a picture of the arch they went through and tried to describe the helter-skelter nature of turning it on. Zilya asked for help; the girl was freezing and had a broken arm, not to mention the rest of them were in bad shape. The girl winced from shivering in the icy room, as she had accidentally jarred her arm. The vinteralven showed a brief moment of pity, and then asked if the group had anything to offer the Winter King of Solonphang, their city. Looking at each other a moment, they nodded.
They were led out the small room into a vast cavern. Icy stalactites and stalagmites abounded. The soft teal glow of the lichen showed a variety of stone structures, made primarily from a died blue stone. Vinteralven stopped and stared at them, particularly Natskin. He winked at one of the viteralven women and told her his ex-wife was an elf. She screamed and ran. The vinteralfen who led them chuckled, but told Natskin not to do that again.
They got to the back of the cavern, to the largest structure in the place. Going up the steps, the doors were opened onto a huge room, filled with ice sculptures and a whispering court. On an enormous ice throne sat a vinteralf at least seven feet tall. He stood up to his full height and came walking down to Karel, Zilya, Natskin, and the little girl, who bowed. The Winter King asked them for their offering. Karel produced the last bit of shaved gold they ahd from the Ensivalen Meditation Cube. They knew it wasn't enough, but it was all they had. But the Winter King was staring intently at the gold: he knew it came from Novstrech! He mentioned the city by name! They had been to the meditation cube beneath Novstrech, he declared. The Winter King immediately asked about The Map. It was in an armoire... a cabinet, that was the word! Yes! That was it! Did they have The Map? Karel nodded and the Winter King eagerly asked for it. The map had immense personal value to the king. Karel asked if he could make a copy first. The Winter King refused; "warmbloods" such as them had no need for that map.
Natskin puked on the floor, still sick from the ghoul bites.
Besides, the Winter King continued, he was willing to trade the map for whatever they needed, carte blanche! That included medical care for their young ward, not to mention a proper set of clothes for her. Ignoring Natskin's glare, Karel produced the map. The Winter King noticed Natskin's dislike for handing over the map.
The little girl was rushed away, to be given warm clothes and medical care for her arm. Zilya, Natskin, and Karel were shown to a stone longhouse. News of the "rapist minotaur" had spread, and no one went near them. That suited them just fine.
They sat for a little while. Karel munched the mushrooms he'd found in the well; his arm finally started feeling better. As he munched he realized just how much stronger his pain could make him, how much more aware of his surroundings. He would use that from then on.
The trio finally felt... normal? Natskin's ribs were taped (and he finally didn't feel nauseous anymore!!), and they all felt more relaxed than they had in awhile. Well, not Zilya, she was still on edge. They were not amongst friends; the vinteralven could kill them at any moment, and the sooner they got away the better. Natskin scoffed. If the vinteralven had actually wanted to kill them they could have done so at any time, whatsoever. But Natskin was fine with that. He'd made peace with dying awhile back. His people cremated their dead and spread the ashes in the fields, where they returned to feed others. The minotaur people taught that there was a pasture somewhere, far away, where all souls went to live in peace. But Natskin wasn't sure if that was a real place. He'd seen so much, so many horrors, he wasn't sure about much anymore, only that he wasn't afraid to die.
Karel said he didn't really feel any sense of gloom, or that he had thought about death at all. They were in the mountains, that much was obvious, and that was home to Karel. Karel hadn't felt this relaxed in a long time. He couldn't quite get his peoples' story about mountains out of his head. The mountains were formed because the god of ice and the god of snow couldn't agree on anything. So they had a war. So fiercely did they fight that the mountains were born in the ensuing wind blasts and struggle. And that was where his people lived: in the footprints of the gods.
That's all they were doing end. Living in the footprints of those that had shaped the world.
Karel, Natskin, and Zilya sat awhile, silent. The world outside continued.
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